Joan Ann Plowright, Baroness OlivierDBE (born 28 October 1929), is an English actress whose career has spanned over six decades. She has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award and has been nominated for an Academy Award, an Emmy and two BAFTA Awards. She is also one of only four actresses to have won two Golden Globes in the same year.

In 2003, Plowright performed in the stage production Absolutely! (Perhaps) in London. She was appointed honorary president of the English Stage Company in March 2009, succeeding John Mortimer, who died in January 2009. She was previously vice-president of the company.[5]

Plowright was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1970 Queen's New Year Honours[6] and was promoted to Dame Commander (DBE) in the 2004 Queen's New Year Honours.[7]

In 2014, she officially announced her retirement from acting, citing her declining eyesight due to macular degeneration.[8]

Personal life[edit]

Plowright was first married to Roger Gage, an actor, in September 1953. She divorced him and, in 1961, married Laurence Olivier after the ending of his 20-year marriage with the actress Vivien Leigh. The couple had three children, Richard Kerr, Tamsin Agnes Margaret and Julie-Kate. Both daughters are actresses.[9] The couple remained married until Lord Olivier's death in 1989.

Legacy[edit]

The Plowright Theatre in nearby Scunthorpe is named in her honour. Upon her marriage to Sir Laurence Olivier, her formal title became "Lady Olivier"; however, she has never used it in her professional career. Her husband later became a life peer in 1970. This legally made her "The Lady Olivier" or more formally Baroness Olivier, of Brighton in the County of Sussex.